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Did you know the Count of Monte Cristo was based on a real man? General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas was a hero of the French Revolution. But he's now forgotten by almost everyone except the son who shared his name and used his father's life as inspiration for some of the greatest novels of all time.

Just because you procrastinate doesn't mean you're lazy. In his new book, The Art of Procrastination, John Perry argues that many procrastinators are actually perfectionists: "My book says, 'Oh, come on, you're not so bad!' "

Most people's after-midnight mishaps are nothing compared with what David K. Randall describes in his new book. From people committing murder while supposedly sleepwalking, to what sleep was like in medieval times, Dreamland provides a lively overview of the world's most popular nocturnal pastime.

In his new memoir, David McGlynn describes how his teenage years were disrupted by violence. McGlynn was a swimmer who turned to evangelical Christianity in college. A Door in the Ocean is a compelling coming-of-age story marked by random tragedy and biblical tracts, church coffee and chlorine.

Fermentation guru Sandor Katz returns to Fresh Air for a lively discussion about cured meats, cheeses — and some fermented beverages (notably wine and beer).

Author Jennifer Weiner's new novel draws on her experience creating and running a television show. Weiner writes bitingly about the experiences of women in Hollywood writers' rooms — and she's also very vocal about the disrespect female authors face from literary critics.

A fierce playwright, a fiery socialist and a pioneering feminist, Lillian Hellman lived unapologetically. But today she's remembered as a fabulist and a rabble-rouser — if she's remembered at all. A new Hellman biography, A Difficult Woman, hopes to set the record straight.

Is 60 the new 40? In her new book, Patricia Cohen (age 51!) explores the origin and evolution of middle age. "I like to say that middle age is something of a 'Never Never Land,'" she says. "Younger people never want to enter it, and older people never want to leave it once they get there."

The talk show host reversed course after intense backlash over the announced return of her show. Barrymore's great aunt, actor Ethel Barrymore, also undermined union efforts in the 1920s.

A road trip from Michigan to Alabama places the Watson family in Birmingham in 1963, just as racial tensions are roiling. Christopher Paul Curtis draws upon his own experiences growing up in the 1960s for this Newbery Honor-winning novel.